Waverly pulled open her tent and found Judson seated calmly in front of the stack of firewood he had set up the previous night. No flames came out it but there was a lantern near him. His face was pale as usual but his mind seemed to have left him.

"Jud?" She called and touched his arm. Judson yelped with a starr then relaxed when he saw it was only Waverly.

"A good morning!" He greeted dryly.

"Are you alright?" Waverly asked and looked about.

She could see that he was unnerved by something. He had mentioned seeing faces the previous night and even though she had not seen them for herself, she wondered if he stayed up all night for fear that those faces would come back. Waverly suddenly felt a fool for leaving him out all night all by himself.

"We have to keep on travelling. Crossing the In Between could possibly take us fifty nine days. . ." Judson caught himself at that point and quietened. He stood up to put out the lantern and carry his bag.

"How do you know that?" Waverly asked with a deep frown.

He gestured that he did not want to talk about it and began to walk away slowly. Waverly folded up her tent and put it back in her Grogana. She kicked away the fireplace and moved the logs that they had sat on then followed him.

For half the day Judson refused to talk or even make gestures like he usually did. He simply kept his eyes on the path. Waverly questioned him several times about whatever might have happened to him the previous night but he gave no replies. Judson was usually always silent but this time, his silence had a strange meaning to it and it worried her greatly.

They quickly left the woods behind and ventured into a much larger forest. Waverly hated that both the forest and Judson were quiet. She felt neither cared to acknowledge her presence and opted to kick stones for luxury as she walked, watching them skitter toward a spot then to an abrupt stop. The sun was out but Waverly could only tell because of the heat. The sunlight was completely blocked out by the trees above. Despite this, the forest was bright enough for travellers to know their path. This time, the red tint of the sky was gone leaving only a swirl of indigo that resembled fast moving clouds.

Waverly thought about what Judson had said. It would take fifty nine days to get across the In Between. She wondered if her mother would still be alive by that time. But then, time worked differently in the realm. Waverly wondered if they had spent only two days inside it or more. Everything in the realm felt different and this was why she guessed that time was also different. The In Between was the only unhabituated realm in all the known realms of power. Waverly knew that much. Lord Edsel had appeared to be no older than eighteen which contributed to the theory that time really was slow in his realm.

Waverly tried to calculate how much fifty nine days in the realm would equal back in her home realm. As she did this, the sound of ruffling leaves made her attention snap.

Judson stopped walking. He looked up at a tree.

Waverly squinted in the direction. "What is that?"

Her reply came in the form of an arrow. It was too fast to comprehend and lodged itself inside her shoulder. She cried out as the unnatural impact of the projectile pushed her way back into a collision with one of the trees.

Another arrow zipped toward Judson but he was quick enough to deflect it with his white wing. The arrow broke against his wing upon contact. All around the trees, leaves began to shuffle noisily.

At first, Judson could only make out fur and very loud chattering but then the creatures became visible. They were wild Alpgetonian Uakari monkeys. They had fur the color of fire brick red. Their furry faces were almost human but they had the body and tail of a monkey. Each creature held a large bow and a quiver full of deadly arrows. They swung from tree to tree so fast that Judson could only see their red fur in a hazy blur.

Judson deflected another arrow aimed at his head. He glanced over at Waverly who groaned in pain and weakly tried to yank the arrow out of her bleeding shoulder. She was leaning against a tree and above, a fire monkey silently crawled towards her whilst nocking an arrow. Judson faced Waverly and aggressively flapped his wing. The wind knocked the monkey off balance and away from her.

Like every other creature, Judson had only seen Uakari monkeys in books. He had never met one and now that he had, he did not know what to do. He realized the creatures were not determined to kill him. They only enjoyed his state of distress. He ran to Waverly and gingerly picked her up. She cried out in pain. The arrow in her shoulder was only halfway out. Judson could see that it was formed from Elvish wood. It looked just like Waverly's short sword but was red instead of brown.

The pointy tip protruded from Waverly's back leader to a profuse bleed. Judson tried to think but he was too conflicted. In between saving Waverly and fending off the creatures, he was totally lost on what to do first.

The Uakari made chattering noises to one another then a second round of firing began. Arrows flew dangerously past Judson but each time he managed to deflect most of them. This action left him feeling sore and achy. He carried Waverly along with him but she only became heavier such that he would drop her at intervals.

The Uakari followed him with precision. They kept their distance but made sure to shoot as many arrows as possible to slow him down. Most of them would overtake the others and hang in the trees up ahead waiting for Judson to pass. When he did, they would fire arrows at him and at Waverly.

As Judson made a turn in the forest, one of the monkeys with an extremely red backside fired an arrow at him and it embedded itself in Waverly's right leg. She groaned but her body was too weak to acknowledge the foreign object.

Judson instantly became annoyed. He gently placed her down and glared disapprovingly at the animals. He did not want to hurt them but they would end up killing Waverly if he did nothing. Out of nowhere, snaky vines began to wrap around the creatures forming a very hard knot. They struggled and chittered in alarm but they were powerless against the vines. Their great bows snapped and their arrows broke like twigs as the vines worked about them until every monkey was securely bound to its tree.

Judson gave an exhausted sigh and made to pick Waverly up again. He first relieved her of Grogana and strapped it to himself. This only tripled the weight he was already carrying. Nonetheless, he picked Waverly up and trotted down the turn in the path. The monkeys watched in silence as he walked away because the vines had also sealed their mouths shut. Judson walked for so long that he began to turn blue. His hair became moist with sweat and his arms and back burned from too much weight.

When he was sure he had put a reasonable distance between himself and the Uakari monkeys, he placed Waverly down. This part of the forest was covered in autumn leaves which made the ground a little bit more comfortable but Judson could spot tiny creatures in the underbrush trying to climb into Waverly's hair.

He was worn out and his body trembled. He did not know how long he had walked for but he was certain it was nightfall again. He drew in a deep breath, knelt and placed his hands on either sides of Waverly, concentrating hard.

Under her, a flower bed began to spring out of the ground. Around this, several vines grew thick and intertwined themselves, growing upward until they were both inside the spacious trunk of a large tree.

When the last leaf of the tree emerged, Judson collapsed in a dead faint. It had been ages since he grew an entire tree. The last time he tried, he was only eight and had passed out for a very long time.

When he finally awoke again, he heard voices. He opened his eyes and looked around. At first he was alarmed that the monkeys had found them again but when his eyesight cleared, he saw that the intruders were girls.

They were conversing in a language Judson did not fully understand. He tried to sit up then realized he was without his shirt. Across his skin muddy herbs were neatly smeared such that he felt sticky. The mud was cold and it sent tiny pulsing waves through his blood. He could tell what kind the herbs were from their smell.

He looked over at Waverly. She laid still on the flower bed and thankfully she had her shirt on. Her shoulder wound was neatly bound and her ankle as well. Judson thought she was fast asleep but her head moved and he heard her laugh. She was speaking to one of the girls.

Judson could see now that they were tree girls. The ones that ambushed him a night ago. Only this time, he was no longer afraid rather he felt relieved to see them.

He silently reached for his shirt as the tree girls were mostly focused on Waverly. He carefully put it on then sat up. As he did, the leaves under him rustled and every eye turned to him.

Judson became uncomfortable and even more uncomfortable when the tree girls began to blush and giggle again, pushing against one another.

"Jud, have you met the Derews?" Waverly asked in excitement.

Judson nodded. The girls giggled and blushed even harder. He stood up and they all cluttered to a corner of the tree as he made his way over to sit next to Waverly.

"They made this place, did they not? It is most amazing. They also chased off those nasty tree monkeys that shot me." Waverly explained.

Judson looked directly at one of the girls, conveying a silent appreciation. She smiled and turned her face away, her cheeks becoming a deep shade of pink.

"They told me they come from all seven realms." Waverly continued. "They were all brought to this place as seeds by a certain goddess. I forget her name. She was very kind and planted their trees here making the In Between their permanent home. She instructed them to help good people whenever they wanted to cross because this realm is swarmed by dangerous creatures."

"How could you understand what they say so well?" Judson asked.

He knew the Derews did not speak English. They spoke an ancient language of the earth that even he sometimes found it difficult to understand. He only managed to pick up a few words but Waverly seemed to have no trouble conversing with the girls.

"I just do." Waverly shrugged and touched her hair. One of the tree girls had braided it in a manner that made her look even younger than she was. The tree spirit had also adorned each braid with flowers so that Waverly's hair looked like a small garden.

"They are kind." Judson muttered. The tree girls giggled frantically. He looked at all of them imploringly. "Will you please leave us to talk alone?"

They nodded and clustered out of the tree by simply slipping through its trunk.

"Why did you ask them to leave?" Waverly asked with a smile.

"They make me quite uncomfortable with how they look at me." Judson confessed.

"That is because they like you, silly." Waverly pointed out and poked Judson in the chest. He turned peach.

"We have to keep on. We cannot linger for long. Remember we have to hurry."

For a moment, Waverly seemed to recall the purpose of their travel. Her expression turned stern and her eyebrows creased deeply.

"We have wasted a lot of time. The Derews say it has been three days already."

"I thought time was slower here." Judson said.

"It is." Waverly replied and picked up her Grogana. Her wounds still throbbed with a dullness but she could walk again. "The Derews told me that time moves with our consciousness."

"What does that mean?" Judson asked picking up his own bag.

"It means that the Gateway can slow down or speed up time using our minds. We can leave the realm in less than fifty nine days or even a week if we want to. The ones who wish to leave remain and the ones who wish to remain must leave."

"I am confused." Judson confessed.

"So am i but i do believe that we can hasten up the time with our actions."

"How do we do that?"

"I have not an idea. But look, they gave me this." Waverly pulled out from the ground what Judson had thought was the stalk of a flower but it was a green sword. Its hilt was shaped like the blooming petals of a rose flower and the blade itself was green. If one could manage to hold it from the sharp end, it looked unmistakably like a real flower.

"I have seen this before." Judson muttered whilst attempting to touch the hilt. "One of the eternal blades of Varda."

"The Derews mentioned that but who is Varda?" Waverly asked.

She seemed to like her new weapon but her short sword still hung from her belt. Judson felt she would never abandon the blade no matter how many new ones she received.

"Varda is The Cultivator. He is lieutenant to Nalie, the goddess of Agriculture. He is famed to own sixteen eternal blades of which he uses to cultivate the forests of the world."

Waverly hummed and admired the blade. "He sounds better than that nosy god we met. And he has beautiful swords too."

Judson exited the tree through an opening he created and Waverly followed. They found the tree girls outside, fussing over a plant that had been trampled on by something large.

Judson walked over to take a look. He hated it when bad things happened to nature. The girls tried to explain that they could not save the plant and kept pleading with Judson to do something.

"Save it, hlāford." One of the girls said. Her eyes were dark and imploring and Judson found it impossible to ignore her plea.

Just as he knelt over the plant, he realized two things. One was that there was a large footprint outlining the ground where the plant was and two - the ground was trembling.

"Jud? Jud, we have to go." Waverly said in panic. "Now!"

Behind them, a great pounding like that of heavy footsteps made the ground shake. The tree girls hurriedly scattered as the creature burst through into the small clearing.

Waverly shrieked and grabbed Judson who was so terrified that he became rooted to a spot. The creature was a tad taller than the Triad. It had thick sturdy goat hooves that made it stand upright and the slightly pink body of a pig. It had a long snout, thick pointy horns and a short curly tail. Its eyes burned grey like a sea storm and smoke emitted from its pointy ears. It was a hybrid creature from Hammiton and it looked unhappy to see strangers.

"It is a Cing." Judson mumbled. It was either he was amazed by the creature or he was frightened to the bone. Either way, he did not make any efforts to move.

The Cing charged. Before it could run Judson over, six of the tree girls intercepted. They began pelting the creature with all types of fruits. It snorted loudly at them and blew steam from its ears. The tree girls shrieked and disappeared back into the trees.

Waverly put down her Grogana and charged the monster. Out of habit, she pulled out her short sword. The animal tried to swat her but its upper body was too big for it to reach that low. This gave her a chance to cut it in the shin.

It bleated and snorted then attacked Waverly, running on all fours at full speed. She was too slow to move out of the way. One of its horns made a clean cut across her arm. She winced and swung her sword but the Cing moved out of reach. It reared its head and came around, knocking her up into the air. She screamed and fell to the ground.

The Cing looked over at Judson who was frantically trying to save the dead plant.

"Judson, let it go already!" Waverly yelled in anger.

Judson sprayed a funny looking dust on the plant and it stood upright again. Before he could move away, the Cing came up from behind and impaled his white wing.

Judson cried out as the horn created a deep hole in his wing. Blood gushed out and stained the feathers. He fell to one knee, subsequently released his other wing and whacked the Cing with it. To Waverly, it sounded like metal against iron. The reverberation made her teeth ring for a whole minute.

The Cing was disoriented for a few minutes allowing Judson to make his escape. Waverly stood up and unsheathed her new blade. She named it Karya on the spot which translated in Alpgetonian to mean keen. It was heavier than the short sword but much longer and with a wider hilt. Waverly twirled it and found that the weight had somehow reduced. She yelled as she ran to the Cing and twirled the blade once more. All of her sparring lessons with HalfHyde proved effective. The sword passed cleanly through the fatty flesh of the creature's side. Green blood gushed out of the injury.

The creature squealed and tried to knock Waverly down again. She parried with Karya and sliced off one of its horns. Just as the Cing was gaining itself, she struck again and cut off its toe. The creature became annoyed but its anger got the best of it. It ran at her but Waverly was ready. As it approached, she swerved and grabbed hold of its other horn using it as a beam to hoist herself up its back. Holding up the sword with both hands, she gave a defiant yell and drove the blade into the creature's skull.

It dropped to the ground with a thunderous sound.

The place fell quiet afterwards. Waverly relieved her sword and wiped it clean on the creature's back then slid off it and ran to find Judson, ignoring her bleeding arm. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. This was the second time he had almost gotten himself killed. She regretted letting him come.

"Judson!" She yelled as she found him standing with his back to her. "You cause me vexation. I told you to leave that plant but you. . ."

Waverly stopped dead in her tracks.

Judson was standing in the midst of the trees staring at something that shimmered on the ground. Waverly walked forward to look at it better. Around her, the atmosphere suddenly darkened to resemble midnight. The smoky object shimmered brighter - dazzling blue. It resembled a fallen star and it was so pretty that Waverly wanted to grab at it.

She fell in a trance and reached for the object but it disappeared. Just as quickly, it appeared a few kilometers in front of her. Waverly glanced at Judson and he did the same. His eyes were glazed over like hers. Together they followed the blue shimmer.

Whenever they tried to reach for the object, it would vanish and appear farther from them. This went on for a couple of hours and neither Judson nor Waverly was able to break out of their trance. Both felt a fresh wave of determination to catch the blue shimmer each time it reappeared.

The shimmer led them on until they came to a part of the realm where there was an open valley. Huge mountains pointed skyward and there were no trees to hide the sky. The ground was cracked everywhere and black smoke came out from these cracks. The valley was obscured with haze but Waverly could see the mountains through it. She stopped to wonder where she had seen such a place before but the blue shimmer appeared right in front of her. She reached out to grab it and suddenly toppled over. As she fell, her vision cleared. She found that she was uncontrollably tumbling down what was a sloping cliffside. Far below, Waverly could hear the powerful roar of rushing waves. She grunted and yelped as her body painfully and occasionally bumped against thorny plant life and protruding rocks from the cliff face. She was about to roll off a final jut and into the sea when a hand grabbed her.

She found herself being swung upwards until she was standing on her feet again.

Waverly exhaled sharply.

Judson had caught her by some miracle even though he had also been in a daze. They both looked up and saw that they had fallen from a great height and below them, black evil looking waves roared and splashed against the cliff. They both sat down on the rock in silence. It was shocking to both just how easily they would have lost their lives.

"We were misled." Judson said at last. His hair blew around in the strong wind. It looked shaggy and was beginning to get even curlier from lack of brushing.

"What were those things?" Waverly asked.

With every obstacle they faced, her resentment for Edsel grew. He had said to them “have fun” right before they came into the forest. He knew of all the dangers they would face but had kept quiet about. If he still had any desire to kill both of them, Waverly thought he would be pleased to discover they had almost died just then. She wondered if he knew everything that went on in his realm. If he did, she was ready to smack him upside his head when they made it out the other side.

She was about to tell Judson to refrain from keeping his promise of a sacrifice when the cliff shook.

"Oh wonderful." She exclaimed in anger. "We cannot have even a minute of rest without some creature wanting to tear us to pieces."

She scaled the quavering cliffside. It was too steep to climb up.

"How do we get back up again?"

Judson was staring at the far side of the other end where the cliff continued into the forest.

"We do not!"

Waverly blinked. "What?"

"We go that way instead!" He said pointing to the next cliff.

"Have you thought about how we are to get across?" Waverly asked looking displeased.

She did not want to go back up and face the strange shimmer but she also did not entertain the idea of crossing over a wild sea such as the one beneath. If Judson suggested swimming, she would lose it. She cautiously looked over the edge wondering ifTumut was down there and earnestly prayed that he was not.

"We have to figure something out quickly." Judson muttered. He thought hard for a long time. Then suddenly he pulled a few seeds out of one the pockets of his shirt.

Using Karya, Waverly was able to dig up a deep enough hole in the rocky surface to plant the seeds. Judson placed them inside the hole and tried his best to smoothen it to a close. He sprayed the seeds with water from Waverly's bottle.

Then they both waited for the moment of truth.

The Moon Spawn|
Book 01